Russell Hobbs Creations kitchen machine and two hot cross bun recipes!

I have a shiny new Russell Hobbs Creations kitchen machine to use! I was so excited when the box arrived. I wasted no time in unpacking the box and having a go at a recipe using it.

The recipe I used to Christen my machine was a hot cross bun recipe. Quite fitting for the season, at the same time as giving me the chance to use the dough hook attachment that comes with the machine, something which I've wanted for quite a while.
What a novel experience for me to weigh out my ingredients into the ample sized mixing bowl that comes with the machine, and put the machine to work with the dough hook whilst I got on with making littlest baker's dinner (I told you I wasted no time in opening the box, we'd just walked in the door!)

I actually made two batches of hot cross buns, one was a Nigella recipe and the other was a Simon Rimmer recipe. I didn't realise until I started looking around at recipes just how many variations of the same thing there could be, a bit like everyone has their own Bolognese recipe.

First up was Nigella's. Something I was concerned about with this recipe is the lack of sugar in the dough, I always thought hot cross buns should be sweet, but I followed the recipe and they worked, go figure!

Ingredients:

For the dough:
50 gram(s) butter
1 orange(s) (zest)
1 cloves
2 cardamom pods
400 gram(s) bread flour
1 packet(s) yeast (easy blend)
125 gram(s) mixed dried fruit
1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
0.5 teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg
0.25 teaspoon(s) ground ginger
150 ml milk
1 egg(s)

For the egg wash:
1 medium egg(s) (beaten with a little milk)
For the cross on the buns
3 tablespoon(s) plain flour
0.5 tablespoon(s) caster sugar
2 tablespoon(s) water

For the sugar glaze:
1 tablespoon(s) caster sugar
1 tablespoon(s) water (boiling)

This is Nigella's exact recipe, I deliberately left out the cardamom pods and ginger as I really don't like them I think with these things it's a case of cherry picking what you like and leaving out what you don't, you do have to eat it after all!

Kitchen machine, kneading my dough.

Finished dough, ready to rise.

Nigella's recipe makes the hot cross buns quite small (makes 16) and rustic, which actually makes them very good as a lunch time treat in little people's lunch boxes (keep them in the freezer, pop one in frozen in the morning, by the afternoon it is defrosted).

Ready for the oven

Method:

1. Heat the milk, butter, orange zest, clove and cardamom pods in a saucepan until the butter melts, then leave to infuse.
2. Measure the flour, yeast and dried fruit into a bowl and add the spices. When the infused milk has reached blood temperature take out the clove and cardamom pods, and beat in the egg. Pour this liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients.
3. Knead the bowl either by hand or with a machine with a dough hook; if it is too dry add a little more warm milk or water. Keep kneading until you have silky, elastic dough, but bear in mind that the dried fruit will stop this from being exactly satin smooth.
4. Form into a ball and place in a buttered bowl covered with clingfilm, and leave to prove overnight in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7/220ºC. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
6. Punch the dough down, and knead it again until it is smooth and elastic. Divide into 16 balls and shape into smooth round buns. I wouldn't start worrying unduly about their size: just halve the dough, and keep halving it until it's in eight pieces, and use that piece to make two buns. Or just keep the dough as it is, and pinch off pieces slightly larger than a ping pong ball and hope you end up with 16 or thereabouts. Not that it matters.
7. Sit the buns on a baking parchment. Make sure they are quite snug together but not touching. Using the back of an ordinary eating knife, score the tops of the buns with the imprint of a cross. Cover with a teatowel and leave to prove again for about 45 minutes - they should have risen and almost joined up.
8. Brush the buns with an egg wash, and then mix the flour, sugar and water into a smooth, thick paste. Using a teaspoon, dribble two lines over the buns in the indent of the cross, and then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
9. When the hot cross buns come out of the oven, mix the sugar and boiling water together for the glaze, and brush each hot bun to make them sweet and shiny.

Finished and cooling, ready for the taste test!

Next up was the Simon Rimmer recipe, this one seemed to be a more traditional recipe, using sugar in the dough which gave them a bit more rise (in my opinion). This recipe made 12 larger buns.

Ingredients:

450g/1lb strong white bread flour
7g/½ oz dried yeast
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
100g/3½oz raisins
1 orange, zest only
100g/3½oz sugar
50g/1¾oz butter
250ml/9fl oz milk
1 free-range egg

For the cross:
75g/2¾oz flour
4 tsp caster sugar
4 tbsp water

For the glaze:
1 tbsp smooth marmalade (I used apricot jam, does the same job)
1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
2 tbsp water

Preparation method:

For the dough, sift the flour, dried yeast, cinnamon, allspice, raisins, orange zest and sugar into a bowl.
Warm the butter and milk together in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg.It is worth letting the milk/butter cool slightly first, to prevent the egg cooking.)
Fold the milk mixture into the flour mixture to form a dough.
Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces, shape into balls and cover with a damp cloth. Set aside for 12 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Meanwhile, for the cross, mix the flour, sugar and water together in a bowl and spoon into a piping bag with a plain nozzle.
Place the buns onto a baking tray and pipe a cross onto each bun. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, for the glaze, heat the glaze ingredients in a pan until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy.
Remove the buns from the oven and immediately brush each bun with the glaze. Set aside to cool.
Serve the hot cross buns warm with butter.

Finished dough, rising...smoother than Nigella's.

All of the finished Hot Cross buns, ready for our meeting at work.

I much preferred the look of these buns, they look like traditional hot cross buns. They also felt softer and (probably due to the sugar) seemed to taste better.

A great way for me to try out my new kitchen gadget! I was very pleased with how the Creations kitchen machine handled the dough and the fact that it left my hands free to get on with other things knowing that it was busy kneading the dough for me!
My only slight negativity with it is that although the large steel mixing bowl is great for preventing flour flying up out of the bowl if not using the splash guard that comes with the machine it makes it difficult for the ingredients to mix well without a helping hand going in and stirring it a bit every now and then.
But that really is my only negativity, and for the price point of £199 it is easily far more economical than a Kitchen Aid. I have also heard that Kitchen Aids and the like have a tendency to 'walk' the Russell Hobbs wins there too as it has suction pads on its feet which prevent this. All in all a very useful machine for any kitchen.